LuzhouWade-Giles romanization Lu-choucity, Pinyin Luzhou, city in southern Szechwan Sichuan sheng (province), China. A Luzhou is a river port at the junction of the Yangtze River (Chang Jiang) and the T’o River, Lu-chou’s Tuo River. Its communications were further improved during World War II, when a highway was built south across the mountains to K’un-ming Kunming in Yunnan province to connect Szechwan Sichuan to the Burma Road. Lu-chouLuzhou, although an ancient city, remains remained for a long time essentially a river port.

The first county there, Chiang-yangJiangyang, was founded in the 2nd century BCBCEand became the seat of a commandery in AD25 CE. Under the Sui dynasty (581–618) the county was renamed Lu-ch’uan Luchuan and became the seat of the chou (prefecture) of LuLu prefecture. This name was kept until 1912, when it became Lu county. Until the completion of the Ch’engChengdu-tu–NeiNeijiang-chiang–Ch’ungChongqing-ch’ing–I-pin Yibin rail network in the mid-1950s, which bypassed the city, Lu-chou Luzhou was the main port outlet for such commodities as the salt and chemicals of Tzu-kungZigong, the sugar of Nei-chiangNeijiang, and the agricultural goods of the region to the north. It was also a trans-shipment transshipment place for grain, tea, tobacco, hides, and meat from northern Yunnan. The completion of the railway has, however, taken away some of its former trade, which now goes direct to Chungking (Ch’ung-ch’ing) directly to Chongqing by rail, while much of the export trade from Nei-chiang Neijiang has been diverted to I-pin.With the exception of a small ammonia fertilizer plant built in the 1960s, Lu-chou has no major industry and has, therefore, declined since the early 1950s, although it remains Yibin.

Luzhou’s economic decline of the 1950s and ’60s, however, turned around dramatically in the 1980s. A railway was built connecting the city with a major line between Chengdu (the provincial capital) and Chongqing, and an expressway linking the city with Chengdu and Chongqing was also completed. While remaining a major market and commercial centre for the densely peopled and fertile plain of the lower T’o River. Tuo River, Luzhou also has developed industries manufacturing machines and fertilizers. It is also notable for its liquor distilleries, the products of which are known throughout China. Pop. (1988 2002 est.) 248,700.city, 404,626; (2007 est.) urban agglom., 1,537,000.